until the devil turns to dust
by MedusaOfTheSpecies
Summary: "What would you have done, Narcissa Malfoy, if it had been your son?" :: Or, Narcissa Malfoy turns up at her sister's doorstep.


**until the devil turns to dust**

QLFC: Use the Beater 2 prompt for their favourite round this season. Ari's favourite is Round Eleven, which features a character defecting from the dark side to join the light.

Additional Prompts: [quote] 'I'm not cocky, I'm rightfully confident.' — State of Sorrow, Melinda Salisbury, [character] Narcissa Malfoy.

* * *

Their heating spell had run out once again.

Andromeda Tonks, nee Black, cuddled deeper into her husband's side, taking great care not to spill any of her hot tea onto either of them. The year was shaping up to be a cold one, the kind where the chill froze even the October earth. Every single spring flower she had planted was dead, leaving Nymphadora devastated to find all the pretty flowers gone.

It wasn't shaping up to be a good year, Andromeda thought, blinking rapidly to keep her tears from slipping out of her eyes. It hadn't been a good day, hadn't been a good week, hadn't been a good month.

The news about her cousin had almost broken what little was left of her heart. Sirius had been her rock, the one family member to keep in touch with her. He had been the only blood-family member to come to her wedding, even going as far as walking her down the aisle. And yet, he had turned out to be just as twisted as the rest of them, she thought, her lips turning into a bitter smile.

"Dromeda, dear," a soft voice said, right as Andromeda felt yet another heating spell cast over her.

"Yes, Ted?" Andromeda asked, making sure her voice was steady before speaking.

"Love, you don't have to try to hide your tears. I know this war has been hard for you," Ted answered softly, taking her hand and bringing it to his chest. "I'm proud of you. You've been so strong, but you don't have to act unbreakable with me."

And that was the final straw, "It's just not right! I know Sirius! He hated Walburga and Orion and the Dark Lord and he never would have followed that madman. He would have died before he betrayed James and Lily Potter! They made him their child's godfather, for Merlin's sake!"

Ted sighed, reaching over to steal her cup of tea and taking a small sip. When he spoke, his voice was steady but not judgemental. It was one of the things that had made her fall for him in the first place. "Dromeda, if you truly believe he didn't betray the Potters, who did? You heard yourself what Dumbledore said… he was the secret keeper in Godric's Hollow."

Andromeda raised her chin up, meeting his eyes and at that moment, Ted knew Dumbledore and anyone who dared to believe Sirius was anything but innocent stood no chance. That was the look she had had when she ran away from home, turning one of the family homes into nothing but ash in her anger.

Ted had never believed Dromeda when she had told him about the insanity that ran through her veins, especially in that moment years ago, watching Dromeda haughtily stare at her family, ignoring the ruins she stood in, he finally understood: she was a Black in more than blood. Her leaving had been her choice, and choosing him had cost her everything.

Eyeing Andromeda's lips, Ted reached down and planted a kiss on them, smiling at the way they were permanently cold. He was so lost in the feeling that he almost missed the exact second when all hell broke loose. The wards dinged, signifying someone had been let in, and both Tonks' were on their feet at once, The wards were custom-made: no one with cruel intentions could be let in, but the Tonks family had lived as if the war would never end since the moment Andromeda left the Ancient and Noble House of Black.

Ted rushed upstairs, checking on their sleeping child. Nymphadora was spread out on the bed; her hair, currently a light shade of yellow, hung off the side of the bed, as her lips moved in silent words. Sighing in relief, Ted moved closer to Nymphadora, perching on the side of the bed with his wand raised in case anyone but his wife entered.

**.**

The world blurred around Andromeda as adjusted her wand in her wand holder before approaching the front door. Creeping up slowly, Andromeda listened to the rhythmic sound of knocking. Whoever was here, they at least had the courtesy to knock, if not the courtesy of owling before entering the Tonks' property.

Taking a deep breath, Andromeda opened the front door before stumbling backwards in shock. Adjusting herself before she fell, Andromeda pointed her wand in between the eyes of the family member standing on her front porch.

"Petrificus Totalus!" She chanted, watching almost detachedly as her former sister dove out of the way. "Petrificus Totalus, Petrificus Talus!"

The third casting of the spell had collided with her target. Narcissa Malfoy tumbled off the porch and into the sharp rosebush Ted had brought back to life, and Andromeda tried to not dredge up emotions of any kind.

Wingardium Leviosa was the next spell cast, and before long, Andromeda had levitated the frozen body onto her living room carpet. Hearing the thud the body made as it hit the floor, Ted was downstairs in a heartbeat.

"What was that sound—" Ted froze as his eyes landed on the body. "Andy, is that...?" his voice trailed off.

Ordinarily, seeing her talkative husband go silent would have been entertaining. At that moment, however, it made the tick of their living room clock feel like a countdown of a bomb.

"Narcissa Elladora Malfoy-Black, the Death Eater's prime role model of a perfect wife," said Andromeda.

Ted bit back the urge to cry, or perhaps fall into hysterics at the thought of Narcissa invading their home. "She got through the wards and we had no warning. Either she has backup or…"

Andromeda laughed, a cold and harsh sound. "No family of mine has good intentions towards us, Ted. Believe me on that."

"We need to question her then," Ted stated. "Maybe we should call for backup. I could floo to Hogwarts, get Dumbledore to come help."

"NO!" Andromeda said sharply. "I will not let that senile fool of a headmaster into my house. This is my family business and I will deal with myself. Fetch me the Veritasium if you really want to help."

There was no room for disagreement in her voice. Whether or not he agreed with her choices, he had known Andromeda long enough to know that she would let no harm come to Nymphadora, come hell or high water. That was enough for him.

**.**

Ted trudged back upstairs, only to return a few minutes later with a bottle of Veritasium and a calming draught; which he tossed to Andromeda.

Swallowing down the bitter potion, Andromeda offered her husband an apologetic smile, ignoring the frozen women on the floor. "_Forgive me?"_ his wife's eyes seemed to ask and Ted nodded back. They needed to be united for this and he hated fighting with the one person permanently on his teams

"I think it's time to unfreeze her mouth. We need information," Andromeda said, her mock-thoughtfulness a disguise for whatever turmoil was going on underneath. Andromeda was the best liar he had ever met, but in this case, she couldn't fool him.

With a sigh, Ted poured truth serum into Narcissa Malfoy's mouth.

**.**

Narcissa came to her senses gracefully, unlike the usual manner of those who had been bound and treated like a rag doll.

"I must confess," she said evenly, "I was expecting a far worse welcome."

Privately, Ted thought that her arrival couldn't get any worse, but he was wise enough to not give voice to that thought.

"What did you expect, Narcissa? A parade? A festival in your honour? Us grovelling at your feet?" Andromeda hissed. "You're not wanted here and you never should have come. What would mother have said if she saw you standing in my home?"

"I hardly am standing, Andromeda, you certainly did make certain of it." Narcissa tossed her blond locks over one shoulder. "And you and I are both well aware that I rarely go places without intention. Mother would have known that."

"Past tense." Andromeda's jaw stiffened. "I didn't get any notice about a funeral."

"You wouldn't have come regardless, Mrs. _Tonks_."

Ted eyed the way his wife's fingers had gone white from clutching her wand too hard. Veritasium has loosened Narcissa's lips to a dangerous extent. Some days, he almost feared magic.

"I'm not here to argue with you. I hardly expected you to be warm and cheerful."

"Then why are you here, Narcissa? Did Lucius touch another woman? Did your pearls break? Did the society parties and muggle-torturing get dull? Or did your son—"

"Don't you dare speak of my son," Narcissa hissed. "I do not care about your opinions on the lifestyle I have chosen, but my son is innocent in whatever qualms you may have about me."

"My lifestyle?" Andromeda's voice was dull and cold. Ted winced—that tone was usually the calm before the storm. "What would you have done if it had been the love of your life versus your bigoted family? What would you have done, Narcissa Malfoy, if it had been your son?"

Ted watched in what felt like slow motions as Narcissa crumbled, any sort of resistance or anger she had melting. "It is my son," she croaked out. "This is what I am here for."

"What about your son?" Andromeda asked suspiciously. "The whispers in the ministry tell me your husband was having luck scouring up Voldemort's favour before his death. I'm sure Draco will be fine."

"The Dark Lord isn't dead," Narcissa hissed. "He lives on and my son will be his servant as my husband is his slave."

Ted glared. "He's dead. I don't know how you managed to trick the Veritasium but Harry Potter killed him. Don't come into our house and say these things. Do you think we don't already worry about our safety enough? My wife and I have nightmares of the day you and your Death Eater friends decide to prune our family tree—"

"He made Horcruxes."

Andromeda's face paled until she looked like a ghost. He had never heard of whatever Horcruxes were, but he had already had enough. "Get out of our house. Never come back here."

"Stop!" Andromeda placed a hand on her shoulder and he felt her shake violently. Clearly he had miscalculated, but he couldn't figure out his mistake.

"What's a Horcrux?" Ted asked at the same time as Narcissa said, "I think Regulus died killing one. Peter Pettigrew was a Death Eater and framed Sirius."

Andromeda sank onto the floor, head in her hands. "Curse you, Narcissa. Curse you for every sin you witnessed and didn't speak of until you needed something from me. You left Sirius rotting in Azkaban for _what?! _You did _nothing_ to thwart the Dark Lord's immortality!"

"He's IMMORTAL?" Ted screamed. He could hear his heart beating.

Narcissa sneered, but there was something broken in her eyes when she looked at him, something desperate. "To make a Horcrux is to break your soul into pieces. It's the darkest sort of magic, the kind your sort will never even know of."

"Oh, fuck _off_ you psychopathic _bitch_." Andromeda met her sister's eyes. "I wanted my daughter to grow up in a better world, and I will do whatever it takes to ensure that. Start talking. Tell me everything you know, and I'll consider sparing you for putting the life of my family and the rest of the magical world in danger."

"No."

"Excuse you?"

"I won't say a word, Andy. Not until you promise to ensure my son's well being and upbringing when I die."

Andromeda blinked. Ted rubbed at his forehead but he could feel a headache coming on.

"Why on earth are you dying, Narcissa? It's only the good who die young, sister. "

"I am on my blood traitor sister's home, planning the Dark Lord's demise. He will execute me, or perhaps one of his Death Eaters will get there first. Lucius too, but Lucius loves our son more than he loves even himself. He will understand."

"You're crazy," Ted breathed. He exchanged a look with Andromeda, a thousand words passing between them in one gaze. _Can we really raise her son? Is she telling the truth? Can we stop a dictator? Free Sirius?_

And yet, the choice was clear. Ted whispered a counter curse and Narcissa could move again. She stood up gingerly, one eyebrow lifted in question.

"We agree to your terms," Andromeda said. "We agree to your terms, you homicidal, suicidal, cocky, _Bloodtraitor_. Not even I could have let the family down like this. Not even I could have dreamt up a plan like this."

Narcissa looked in pain at the word and it brought Andromeda a short moment of joy before she spoke again.

'I'm not cocky, I'm rightfully confident. I believe in what I am fighting for. Was it not you who asked me, Andromeda? Was it not you who would have asked what I would have done, if it were my son?"

**.**

_Graveyard, 1989_

**Here lies Narcissa Malfoy neé Black**

Beloved wife, sister, and mother

"_Nostrae electiones nostrae solus sustinere."_

"_Our choices are ours alone to bear."_

"My mother didn't like you much," Draco Malfoy told Andromeda, his nose stuck in the air but his eyes glued to his mother's grave. Every single one of his features were aristocratic. _Perfect breeding_, as Pureblood society would have called it. As Narcissa would have called it.

"I didn't like her much either," Andromeda said shortly. "She was stuck-up and cruel and selfless in a manner only she could have."

"And me?" Draco asked, much too quickly to pull off his usual unbothered aura. He was like his father in that way, Narcissa had never wanted anyone's approval except her own.

Andromeda tapped the black inside of his wrist, where no Dark Mark stained his skin. He was paler then even Narcissa had been, but he had her eyes: the desperate ones from the day she had begged, not the joyful ones from her childhood. "Jury's still out on you, kiddo. Your mother died for you. What are you going to do about it?"

Draco opened his mouth as if to stay something cruel, but decided against it and snapped his jaw shut. "I wish she was here."

_I don't, _Andromeda thought. She missed her sister in memories only. She had loved her and she had finished mourning her years before she had shown up on her doorstep.

But this wasn't about Narcissa's snobbiness or Draco's ancestry or Andromeda's family tree. This was about a woman kneeled on the floor, begging; this was about a boy staring at the floor of a ministry custody hearing, silent. This was about a teenage girl leaving her past for better shores, desperate.

"Make her proud then," Andromeda offered and they watched the sun set over Narcissa Malfoy's grave in silence.


End file.
